Animal rescue seeks old shoes for fundraiser

An animal rescue center will be able to help more dogs and cats based on the weight of old shoes. That's the idea behind a current campaign that will help the center pay for everything from medications to vet bills.

That's the idea behind a current campaign that will help the center pay for everything from medications to vet bills.

Count 12-year-old Dillon Shipley among those who is grateful for the work of Saving Grace Animal Rescue of Maryland. It was there that Dillon's family adopted Cole.

"After Cole came along, we became best friends," Dillon said. "He's my buddy."

The family adopted Cole hoping that the dog would benefit Dillon, who has an emotional disorder and social challenges.

"(Cole) just seemed to calm him down," Amber Shipley, Dillon's mother, said. "Petting the dog, being around the dog (helped him)."

When Cole gets older, the Shipleys said he will be trained as a therapy dog for Dillon.

"It's someone for him to connect to that doesn't judge him, doesn't see that he's different in any way," Shipley said.

Cole came to the Shipley family by the way of the nonprofit Saving Grace Animal Rescue of Maryland. The organization's mission is to end the neglect of animals across the East Coast by rescuing them and helping find them new homes. The rescue does not have a permanent facility because its foster families accept rescue dogs and cats into their homes.

"These animals go from one person's trash, they are thrown out on the side of the road, left for dead and now they're saving lives," Sandy Caldwell, with Saving Grace Animal Rescue of Maryland, said.

Those who work with the rescue organization said creating success stories like Cole's costs money. For the second year in a row, the organization is collecting as many shoes as possible as part of a fundraiser for the organization.

"We partner with a company called bundle org," Diana Maddox, of Saving Grace, said. "We collect shoes, bag them up and they make a donation based on the pounds of shoes we collect."

Saving Grace Animal Rescue covers medical costs for the dogs and cats before they are placed in permanent homes, The old shoes will help cover those costs. Last year, it collected 4,500 pairs of shoes and raised about $1,800.

For more information about how to help Saving Grace Animal Rescue of Maryland, click here.